The Reelight CIO are bicycle lights which are mounted near the wheels alongside a small magnet on a spoke to create a make-shift dynamo with just enough power to produce lights. They are marketed as Be seen-type lights, however I am skeptical as to whether they are enough to "Be seen" from at least 100 or 200 meters away. Additionally, considering the mounting seems pretty flimsy, I wouldn't be surprised if they get knocked or moved out of place often.
More broadly, I am interested to hear anyone with experience with Reelights produces? Reelight claims their other produces (e.g. Reelight Nova Set and Reelight RL700 Series) are comparable to CIO in terms of lumens, but I am skeptical of this claim).
Does anyone have any experience with these? Are these safe enough for basic rear lights?
by _rmf
2 Comments
No
They’re fine as a backup, or as a get you home light, but they’re too low, too dim and too easily obscured from the side.
Plus they have previously had appalling durability, as they’re perfectly positioned to get damaged in bike racks.
Personally I wouldn’t bother, get a proper hub dynamo setup if that’s what you’re after
I think whether they’re viable depends on a few factors and it’s best to consider for yourself if they’d work or not.
If an area is well lit, with good cycling infrastructure, low speed limits, and I don’t ride my bike that fast, I’d consider smaller, dimmer lights to be completely adequate.
Meanwhile if I was riding much faster, on open roads with no bike lanes, higher speed limits for vehicles and less street lighting, I’d go for something brighter.
I wouldn’t think twice about putting these on my grocery getter that gets ridden short distances in urban environments, but I’d likely look for something brighter if I was riding a road bike on main roads for longer distances.
Also worth mentioning that I think these make great supplementary lights, and likely work very well as daytime running lights too.